The immediate past Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah and three otherrs have been arrested by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) in connection with the controversial Strategic Mobilisation Limited (SML) scandal.
The other two individuals in custody are Dr. Isaac Crentsil, former Commissioner of the Customs Division, and Christian Tetteh Sottie, a former Commissioner of GRA’s Domestic Tax Revenue Division.
Their arrests form part of an intensified investigation into alleged corruption and procurement irregularities surrounding a multi-million dollar contract between GRA and SML Ghana.
A statement released by the Special Prosecutor on Wednesday, June 25 confirmed that the three are being held to assist with investigations into suspected corruption and related offences tied to revenue assurance contracts awarded to SML.
The contracts, which were designed to monitor and verify revenue in the petroleum downstream sector, have come under fire over concerns about value for money, due diligence, and the transparency of procurement processes.
Background of the SML Controversy
The SML saga broke into the national spotlight following an exposé by The Fourth Estate, which revealed that SML Ghana had been awarded multiple lucrative contracts by the Ministry of Finance and the GRA—without parliamentary approval or proper competitive tendering.
The deals, worth over GH¢1 billion cedis, were intended to help the state track revenue from petroleum products, particularly at depots and pumps.
SML claimed that its services were instrumental in sealing revenue leakages and increasing government earnings from fuel taxes. However, critics—including civil society groups, policy think tanks, and sections of the media—have challenged these assertions, questioning the legitimacy of the results and the necessity of outsourcing such a critical role to a private entity.
In January 2024, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo directed the suspension of the SML contracts and called for an audit following public backlash and demands for accountability.
The KPMG audit report that followed raised red flags over the lack of proper evaluation, conflict of interest concerns, and the absence of measurable outcomes to justify the payments made to SML.
Despite SML defending its role in plugging revenue loopholes in the petroleum sector, the audit did not conclusively back their claims. Instead, it highlighted ambiguities in the contract’s structure and deliverables, sparking further calls for criminal investigations.
